1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data communications systems, and more particularly to high bandwidth data communication systems employing multiple serial links.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 5,065,396 teaches an inverse multiplexor/demultiplexor system which demultiplexes a data input signal at a first data rate into a plurality of second lower data rate subsectional signals where each sub sectional signal is provided with a periodic synchronization marker and includes a data rate which is less than the channel data rate used to transmit the subsectional signal to a remote terminal. Programmable multiplexors operate to take one or more subsectional signals that are clock synchronized to a programmable multiplexor clock and a rational fraction of the channel data rate and map contiguously assigned time slots in a capacity domain frame for each subsectional signal to time slots of a time domain frame format using a two step or three step digit reverse technique.
Although the patent teaches a technique for transmitting high bandwidth data over lower bandwidth transmission media, the patent requires insertion of periodic synchronization markers and a mapping of contiguously assigned time slots in a capacity domain frame for each subsectional signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,241,541 teaches a first time division multiplex interface for an integrated data link controller.
Although the patent does deal with time division multiplexing for data transmission, it does not teach an efficient high bandwidth communication protocol using multiple serial links as does the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,210 teaches method and apparatus for transforming low bandwidth telecommunications channels into a high bandwidth telecommunications channel. The patent teaches a system employing a number of relatively low bandwidth channels which are combined to form a high bandwidth channel and wherein transmission time delays across the low bandwidth channels is equalized at the receiving station through the use of alignment monitors which detect alignment signals to determine delay between different ones of the low bandwidth channels.
Although the patent generally deals with the use of low bandwidth channels to transmit high bandwidth information, the patent employs a complex alignment system to measure and compensate for varying delays between different ones of the low bandwidth channels.
Published European patent application abstract WO9313609-A teaches a system for interconnecting data terminals through a switched digital network using inverse multiplexing to split high bandwidth data stream into multiple signals for transmission over separate narrow bandwidth channels. The system of the publication generally refers to a packet switching system in which a serial packet stream on a high speed link is divided into multiple packet streams over multiple lower speed links where packets are specifically assigned time slots.
The published application does not teach nor suggest Applicants' invention which provides the simple and cost effective high bandwidth communications protocol over multiple serial data links.
Published unexamined Japanese patent application JP01-148645 teaches a control system for controlling wheel slip in a driven wheel vehicle. The abstract incidently discloses that data from the wheels are sent to a serial data transmitting circuit from which data are sent by serial transmission to a serial data receiving means by means of a time division multiplex communications system.
Although the published application abstract teaches generally serial data transmission and time division multiplexing, it does not teach Applicant's invention of a high bandwidth communications protocol employing multiple serial data links.